1. When The Music's Over
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLAr-WlxMZY On The Record Weve arrived at our destination and can reveal this to be the track that rightly adorns the top of our list. A roaring depiction of music being the fire that keeps us living, When The Musics Over was an encore for the band in their early days and found its way onto Strange Days as a rousing and lengthy closing track. The song itself roars into life with an ear-splitting wail from Morrison before some polarising wordplay drives the track forward (the scream of the butterfly) and the rest of the band play for their lives in order to create an aura of elemental chaos. Its for these reasons that the song became a cultish treat when watched live, with fans eager to dance to its hard riffs and bear witness to Morrison lolling around on the floor during its climax. When The Musics Over isn't particularly catchy; it doesn't make a grand declaration about love, nor does it pass any comment on war or the culture of its time. However, its this air of ambiguity that is the very reason it deserves to be cited as the bands best ever track. Every repeated listen offers something different, be it an appreciation of Morrison and the way he throws himself into the song, Manzareks steady keyboard playing, Densmores frisking of the cymbals or Kriegers solos, this is the true encapsulation of why The Doors are great. Waxing Lyrical For the music is your special friend/ dance on fire as it intends/ music is your only friend Raw and powerful are just two words that sum up this incendiary chorus. So good that this writer had these words tattooed on his arm. Enraged that 'Love Her Madly' didn't make the cut? Frustrated that 'The Soft Parade' wasn't deemed to be the band's true opus or that 'Hello I Love You' wasn't celebrated for all of its pop simplicity? Then take the leap and share your thoughts on the comments thread below.
Shaun Davis
Contributor
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
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